TECHNICAL
it'S the LittLe thinGS thAt bite
TeChNICAl
PAoLo
FiLiSetti
Technical
Editor
The Russian GP in sochi can’t be
considered as one of the most
interesting from the technical point of
view, but it was at least pretty useful
to underline one fact – the relevance of
taking care of the tiniest detail, even in
this last crucial phase of the season. It
is important not to take anything for
granted, especially from the reliability
point of view of the cars.
It was in fact interesting to note as
some teams were able to take care
of very small details to guarantee the
reliability of their cars, especially taking
into account those needs that were
related to the specific stress induced
to some element of their cars by the
particular features of this track.
One team in particular caught our
attention, and it was Mercedes. The
car, although sporting the same basic
configuration adopted in Singapore
(such as the front wing), adopted some
tricks to guarantee the efficiency and
reliability of some of its components. It
was interesting to note how Mercedes
implemented a strategy to maintain
the efficiency and performance of the
braking system.
In particular it was interesting that, at
the front, the brake drums were partially
open, without the side cover. In this way
it was possible to see the complete disc,
together with the caliper and the small
venting ducts, aiming to dissipate the
heat generated under braking.
This solution was adopted to provide
more efficient cooling for the front
brakes, particularly stressed here in
Sochi due to the close sequence of
turns and short straights, which increase
the need to be capable of cooling discs
and pads.
It was particularly interesting to see
on the starting grid how an opposite
strategy was applied to the rear brakes.
In particular, heating blankets were
put on the brake drums, sealing them,
and blowing hot air inside them, so
as to keep them warm – close to the
normal working temperature. This was
done to avoid the problem related
to an excessive drop down of the
temperature of the discs at the start,
leading to a dramatic reduction of the
friction between discs and pads, hence
reducing their efficiency.
This kind of attention, related to the
braking system, didn’t help Mercedes
to prevent problems in other areas of
the car, as was the case for the throttle
pedal of Nico Rosberg’s car.
This element failed during the race,
forcing the driver to retire. The throttle
of course is a drive-by-wire-system,
in a similar mode to the modern rear
brakes, which are assisted by brake-by-
wire, rather than the older, simpler cable
(brake) / rod connections of days gone
by.
On this occasion, the sophisticated
electronics, didn’t play a positive role in
terms of keeping the systems efficient.
Instead, on this occasion, it proved to be
the Achilles heel of this outstanding car.
Reliability must never be taken for
granted!
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GPWEEK.com // 33
GPWEEK.com //
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